Safety valve system for glassware forming machine

ABSTRACT

In multi-section glassware forming machinery, a safety valve system is provided which enables the attendant to shut down any selected one of the sections by manually operating a valve switch at any one of two or more locations without disturbing the continued operation of the other sections. Also, the entire multi-section machine may be shut down from one of two or more locations.

SAFETY VALVE SYSTEM FOR GLASSWARE FORMING MACHINE Filed Aug. G. 1971 June 5, 1973 A. w. FAURE ET AL.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

June 5, 1973 A. w. FAURE ET Al. 3,737,296

SAFETY VALVE SYSTEM FOR GLASSWARE FORMING MACHINE Filed Aug. C. 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

Alphonse W. Faure Harold L. Coldwel S Y E N R O H A SAFETY VALVE SYSTEM FOR GLASSWARE FORMING MACHINE Alphonse W. Faure, Philadelphia, and Harold L. Caldwell, Pleasantville, Pa., assguors to C.S.S. Machine and Tool Company, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.

Filed Aug. 6, 1971, Ser. No. 169,629 Int. Cl. C03b 9/40 U.S. Cl. 65-159 4 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE In multi-section glassware forming machinery, a safety valve system is provided which enables the attendant to shut down any selected one of the sections by manually operating a valve switch at any one of two or more locations without disturbing the continued operation of the other sections. Also, the entire multi-section machine may be shut down from one of two or more locations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Glassware, such as bottles and other items, are conventionally made on multi-section glassware forming machines. A typical number of sections is six. In operation, it frequently becomes necessary to shut down one of the sections for maintenance and repair. Sometimes the situation is such that very prompt shutting down of the section is necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An important object of the present invention is to provide a safety valve system for multi-section glassware forming machinery which will allow the operator to shut down one of the sections from any one of two or more locations without disturbing the continued operation of the other sections.

Another object is to provide an improved valve which may be incorporated into a safety valve system of the type referred to above to permit fast shut down of one of the sections of a multi-section glassware-making machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a diagrammatic illustration of two sections of a multi-section machine.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of a new valve provided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an elevational View, in section, of the valve of FIG. 2 showing the valve spool in position for normal operation.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, in section, similar to that of FIG. 3 but showing the valve spool in shut-off position.

FIG. 5 is a view, in section, looking along the line 5-5 of FIGS. 2-4, with the spool in the position shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a View, in section, looking along the line 6-6 of FIGS. 2-4, with the spool in the position shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a view, in section, looking along the line 7-7 of FIGS. 2-4, with the spool in the position shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. l is a diagrammatic illustration of two sections of what may be assumed to be a six-section glassware making machine. In FIG. 1, the section at the left is shown in normal operating condition, while the section at the right is shown in shut down condition.

In FIG. 1, similar components in the left-hand and right-hand sections are identified by the same reference United States Patent O ICC numerals. The left-hand section, which is in normal operating condition, will be described rst.

Air for operating the machine is introduced at 10` and flows through line 11 to the input port 21 of valve 20 in the left-hand section and out the output port 22 through line 12 to the manifold 50 of the valve block 5l. Whether or not the air introduced into the manifold passes through the valve block 51 depends upon the condition of the particular Valve in the block, and this condition is dependent upon a timing drum 61 which is driven rotationally through an air-operated clutch 60. The clutch is normally engaged to drive the timing drum 61. At an appropriate time in the cycle, air passes through the related valve in valve block 51 and through the directional valve 52 to operate the blank mold cylinder 53 to close the blank mold. A short time thereafter, under the control of timing drum 61 and valve block 51, air passes through the related valve in block 51 and through the directional valve 54 to operate the 'blow cylinder 55 to close the blow mold.

At a proper time, under the control of the timing drum 61, air from the valve block 51 passes up lead 13 into port 26 of valve 20, through the valve 20, `out port 25 and into port 71 of a valve 70 which controls the scoop cylinder. This air causes the spool of the valve 71 to move to the right, against the action of a bias spring and allows machine air from lead 11 to pass into port 72 of valve 70 to operate the scoop cylinder.

The action described above for the left-hand section of FIG. l is repeated cyclically during normal operation of the machine under the control of timing drum 61.

The right-hand portion of FIG. l illustrates a section of a multi-section glassware forming machine which is identical to that of the left-hand section, with the exception that the valve 20 is shown in shut-off condition instead of in normal operating condition. As previously indicated, corresponding components in the right-hand section are identied by the same reference numerals as those of the left-hand section.

In the right-hand section of FIG. l, it is assumed that the operator has shut down the section by manually operating the section shut-01T valve 81 of the right-hand section. When the operator operates the section shut-off valve 81, safety air from source 90 flows through line 14 through the operated shut-oil valve 81 and into the end port 27 of the valve 2t). As will be described more fully later, the entry of air into port 27 moves a spool 30 in valve 20 from a position shown in FIG. 3 to a position shown in FIG. 4. As a consequence, machine air from source 10 which enters input port 21 is now blocked from output port 22. This air now flows out of ports 23 and 24. As seen in FIG. l, the air out of port 24 ows down through lead 15 and through directional valve 74 to clutch 60 to disengage the clutch thereby disengaging the rotational drive of the timing drum 61.

The air which ows out of port 23 of valve 20` flows through line 16 and through the directional valves 52 and 54 to operate the blank-mold cylinder S3 and the blow-mold cylinder 55 to open, or to hold open, the blank and blow molds. This assures that the blank mold and the blow mold are held in open position when the section is shut down.

In the operating condition of valve 20 (FIG. 3), air ows from the valve block 51 into port 26 and out of port 25 into port 71 of the scoop-cylinder valve 70. When, however, spool 30 of valve 20 is moved from its operating position (FIG. 3) to its shut-off position (FIG. 4) air into port 26 of valve 20 is blocked and no air flows into port 71 of valve 70. As a result, the spool of the scoop-cylinder valve 70 is now returned by its biasing spring to its shut-off position. In this position, machine air from source ilows in through port 72 and out to the scoop cylinder to return the scoop cylinder to its other position. To enable the spring-biased spool of valve 70 to return to its operative position, air which would otherwise be trapped, is vented through its port 71 into port 25 of valve 20 and out of port 29 to atmosphere.

With valve 20 of the right-hand section of FIG. l in the condition indicated, the right-hand section is shut down by the reason of the following conditions: Clutch 60 is now disengaged and no longer drives the timing drum 61. No air flows into manifold 50 and hence no air flows through valve block 51 to operate the blank-mold cylinder 53 to close the blank mold. Similar, no air ows through valve block 51 to the blow-mold cylinder 55 to close the blow mold. And no air flows from source 10 through port 72 of the scoop-cylinder valve 70 to operate the scoop cylinder.

Check valve 73 in the right-hand section prevents safety air from input port 27 of valve 20 from owing out of port 28, through line 17, and into port 28 of valve 20 of the left-hand section. This would operate spool 30 of the left-hand section and shut down the left-hand section. This is not wanted. This undesirable result is prevented by check valve 73.

The right-hand section of the machine could also have been shut down by the attendant by manual operation of the right-hand section shut-olf valve 82 instead of the right-hand section shut-off valve 81. These section shutolf valves are in parallel and the attendant uses whichever one is most conveniently located at the time he wants to shut down the section. A third shut-off valve could, of course, also be provided, if desired.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, the attendant may also shut down simultaneously all sections of the six-section machine by operating manually either one of the machine shut-olf valves 91 or 92. These valves are in parallel.

Assume that valve 91 has been manually operated by the attendant to shut down the entire machine. In such case, air from source 190 flows through lead 1-8, through the shut-olf valve 91, and through all check valves 73 into the input ports 28 of all of the valves 20. This moves the spools 30 of the valves from left to right to shut down all sections simultaneously.

Shutting down the entire machine could also have been obtained by the attendant manually operating valve 92 which is located on the other side of the machine. Thus, the attendant has the choice of selecting the nearest of the valves 91 or 92 to shut down the entire machine.

The structure of the new valve 20 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2-7. As indicated previously, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the valve; FIG. 3 is an elevational view, in section, showing spool 30 in its normal operating position; FIG. 4 is an elevational view, in section, showing spool 30 in its shut-olf position; FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views along the lines 5 5, 6 6, and 7 7, respectively, showing the conditions at these points when the spool 30 is in its shut-oil position, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Reverting now to FIG. 3, when spool 30 is in its normal operating position, input port 21 is in communication with output port 22 by way of an annular recess 31 provided in spool 30. An axial recess 32 extends forwardly from the annual recess 31, toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, but recess 32 is not required for normal operation. It is used when the spool 30 is in its shut-olf position, as later described.

When spool 30 is in its normal operating position, as illustrated in FIG. 3, port 25 is in communication with port 26 by way of a cross-slot 33 provided in spool 30 and located near the right end of the spool.

The spool 30 also includes a right angled duct 34, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 but seen best in FIG. 7. No air passes into or through duct 34 when the spool is in its normal operating position since one end of duct 34 terminates at the surface of the upper wall of housing 35 of valve 20 while the other end of the duct 34 terminates at the surface of the side Wall of the housing.

When the spool 30 is in its normal operating position, as shown in FIG. 3, air from the machine air supply 10 passes in through port 21, through recess 31, and out through port 22 to line 12 leading to the manifold 50, as shown in FIG. 1. The air from manifold 50 passes into valve block 51, and at an appropriate time in each cycle, as controlled by timing drum 61, air passes out into line 13, into port 26 of valve 20', through slot 33, and out through port 25 to port 71 of valve 70I of the scoop cylinder.

When the attendant wishes to shut down one of the sections, he manually operates one of the two section shut-ott valves 81 and 82 associated with each section. These valves are connected in parallel. Assume that the attendant operates valve I81. When the section shut-off valve 81 is operated, air from safety source 190 flows in through port 27 of valve 20. This air forces spool 30' to move from its left-hand operative position to its righthand shut-olf position. The latter position is illustrated in FIG. 4.

In the shut-off position of spool 30, communication between ports 21 and 22 is blocked by the spool body, but port 21 now communicatesby way of the axial recess 32 and the annular recess 31 with ports 23 and 24, and air flows out of these two ports over the lines 15 and 16,

as indicated in the right-hand section of FIG. 1.

When spool 30 is moved to the shut-ol position, as shown in FIG. 4, the right-angled duct 34 moves to a position which is in registry with ports 25 and 29. Thus, port 25 now communicates with port 29, and, as indicated in the right-hand section of FIG. 1, exhaust air from the valve 70 of the scoop cylinder is vented through port 71 into port 25 and out through port 29 to atmosphere. This allows the spool of valve 70 of the scoop cylinder to move under spring action to its shut-0E position.

When the section is to be put back i-nto operation, the attendant pushes the push button 90. This button is connected by a hollow tube91 to the right end of the spool 30. By this means, spool 30 is returned to the left until stopped by the adjustable stop pin 93. In order to provide a vent for the air which would otherwise be trapped in chamber 36 of the valve 20, spool 30 is provided with a lengthwise duct 95 which runs from the left-hand end of the spool all the way to the right-hand, with an off-set at 96, as seen in phantom in FIG. 2. The air from chamber 36 is vented through the duct 95, through the hollowv bore 97 of tube 91, and through a hole 98 which is put into registry with lateral ducts 99 in the push `bottom 90 when the end portion 100 of push buttom 90 is compressed. A spring 101 normally maintains lateral ducts 99 out of communication with vent hole 98. In the way just described, air which would otherwise be entrapped in chamber 36 when the spool 30 is returned from shutol to operating positions is vented to atmosphere during the return stroke of the spool.

To protect the entire multi-section machine against power failure, a fail-safe solenoid valve 102 may be provided in parallel with the machine shut-off manual valves 91 and 92. The solenoid valve 102 is held in operative position by current ow through its winding. Upon failure of power, the Valve moves to shut-olf position, thereby assuring that if the power fails, the blank molds and blow molds will be moved to, or maintained in, open condition, and all scoops will be moved to, or held in, retracted positions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multi-section glassware forming machine having a source of machine air, molds, cylinders for such molds, scoops, cylinders for such scoops,'valves for the scoop cylinders, a valve block for supplying machine air at selected times to the mold cylinders and scoop cylinder valves, and a clutch-controlled timing drum for cyclically controlling said valve block, the improvement which comprises the provision of means for shutting down any selected one of the sections of said machine while allowing the other sections to continue in operation, said shutdown means comprising:

(a) a two-position main safety valve in each section, said valve having a housing having a plurality of ports therein and a spool movable within said hous- 1 ing between operative and shut-down positions;

(b) said spool in said operative position providing communication between said source of machine air and said valve block for operating said molds;

(c) said spool in said operative position also providing communication between said valve block and said scoop-cylinder valve for controlling the operation of said scoop;

(d) said spool in said shut-down position providing communication between said source of machine air and said clutch for said timing drum for disengaging said clutch to shut down said timing drum to discontinue the cyclical supply of machine air to said mold cylinders and to said scoop cylinder valve;

(e) said spool in said shut-down position also providing communication between said source of machine air and said mold cylinders for maintaining said molds open;

(f) said spool in said shut-down position providing communication between said scoop-cylinder valve and atmosphere for venting said scoop-cylinder valve;

(g) a source of safety air;

(h) lines connecting said source of safety air to input ports in said main safety valve for controlling the position of the spool therein; and

(i) manually operable shut-down valves inserted in said lines for controlling the ow of safety air to said main safety valve.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that at least two manually operable section shut-down valves are provided at different locations for shutting down each section while allowing other sections to continue in operation.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 characterized in that at least two manually operable machine shut-down valves are provided in said lines in parallel with said section shut-down valves for shutting down the entire machine by manual operation of one machine shut-down valve.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 characterized in that a fail-safe solenoid valve is provided in said lines in parallel with said manually operable machine shut-down valves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,564,497 12/ 1925 Stenhouse et al. 65-159 2,336,162 12/1943 Bridges 65-159 2,790,425 4/1957 Norris 65-159 X 3,418,096 12/1968 Bathellier 65-159 X 3,529,948 9/1970 Eldred et al. 65-159 ARTHUR D. KELLOGG, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

